trans_9 | One more reason to keep on going

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One more reason to keep on going

Irma was gone. Matt was gone. Just about everyone from their universe seemed to have been podded, and Kaya decided, in the wake of this, that she should still make sure the classrooms were kept clean. The place she was staying, Will's room with all of the gymnastics, had been clean after Kaya ad attempted a fairly rigorous workout. She had made sure that Matt's wares were stocked, the common room swept and cleaned, so that when the other came around, they would have a nice place to sit and talk.

First there was Cornelia's room, with all of its earth nation goodness and flowers, making sure that the architecture was carefully polished and everything watered so nothing was neglected. She couldn't help passing by this room and thinking of Toph.

Then she moved onto Hay Lin's room, which never failed to remind her of Aang with all of its wind implements, very much something an airbender would have loved: she would have to make sure to tell both Aang and Nima about it if they had the chance to visit. It always seemed so big and grand and open to her, as she thought the element air should anyhow.

Tarnee's room, while once making her wary with its affiliation for fire, was gotten over once you stepped inside: it was kept in balance with all of the books and the globes that were a representation of energy everywhere. She always loved coming here to expand her mind a bit, and it was a perfect reflection of an intellectual girl Kaya never had the pleasure of meeting.

And then, of course, there was Irma's room. She knew there was an obvious bias here, stepping into the room that reflected her best, with all of its watery element and the ability to swim in and out of the water that surrounded the room. She was cleaning here a little, and then could not help herself: she discarded her clothing, wrapped only in her underclothes and jumped in, allowing the underwater environment to envelop her. Perhaps her favorite thing about this place was how she could still breathe underwater.

She was so entranced, she did not notice anyone coming in.

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His eyes shifted back and forth, taking in the rest of the blue and gold color scheme and the creatures that swam just below the bubbles of water.

This was a classroom?

"I see. Who else lives upon this vehicle and makes use of these classrooms?" Truth be told, as soon as he had a chance he was going to run around and look at the other rooms in the place as well.

Kaya took a long breath, then exhaled. "Well, it changes a lot, but from what I remember, Devlin, Negi, Asuna and a few others. The person who owned this room used to be here, but was podded recently, not too long after Matt. It was a shame: she had an affinity with water, I wanted to get to know her better."

She walked over to where she had abandoned her clothing earlier and dressed herself. "Did you want to explore some of the others?"

"I do not know any of those people," he replied with a half-hearted shrug.

"But yes, I would very much like to! Exploring is one of my favorite pastimes. Tell me, how many other rooms are there?"

"Well, I hope you get to meet them soon. Negi is one of the smartest kids I know even if he still does have his rogueish side, and Devlin's an absolute sweetheart. In any case, you;ll likely run into them at some point."

Kaya thought a moment. "There's the common area of course, and then there's the actual classrooms. Each of the classrooms have aspects of the elements the girl's represent. This room is Irma's, and she is obviously a water element. Then there's Hay Lin's, which is air, Cornelia's, which is earth based, Tarnee's, which is fie, and Will, who was the heart and energy, has several exercise items there. After that are the dorms, the astronomy area, and the library. So there are actually several rooms here I might not even know about."

"Earth first! Earth first!" He chanted like an over-excited child. "Then astronomy, air," the elf said, lowering a finger as he rambled off the areas in the bus. "Fire and whatever's left after that!"

Fontaine huffed and walked his way over to the entrance of the room. The wolf already knew that this was going to be a long day.

Kaya giggled. "I sort of figured you would be partial for an earth themed room. Come on, let me show you Cornelia's room."

She ushered him into the room, where there was an ample display of flowers, an archway welcoming them into the room and toward the side was a huge stone with a symbol Kaya could only assume was representative of Cornelia's power.

"I've always felt a quiet peace in this room, different from Irma's room," Kaya said. "I come here from time to time, though it is a little sad for me since we don't have an earthbender here who would really appreciate the surroundings."

His face lit up when they entered the room. Sure, Hydroponics was overflowing with foliage as well but this was still new in all its colors and smells. Without wasting a moment he threw himself into the giant flowerbed and rolled onto his back. Fontaine was quick to join in his little moment of play.

He ran his fingers over the lush blades of grass and the multicolored flowers that blanketed the huge patch of land. Relaxed against the relative stillness of the entire room with the odd shafts of sunlight poking through the large trees. The elf took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, a pleased smile adorning his oval face.

Nokosi was mostly silent, eyes closed in reverie since he'd lay back in the flower bed. Suddenly he spoke up but he didn't make any attempts to move from the spot he lay.

"I do not think you need to be an earthbender to truly appreciate these surroundings. I think I am doing a fairly good job as it is."

Kaya watched him, a smile coming to her face. She knew that look: it was the very same way she reacted when Matt had first shown her Irma's room. That look of contentment, the way that Nokosi seemed to drink all of this in: it was all too familiar

"Oh, I knew it would be wonderful for someone like you," Kaya said. "It just makes me a little homesick, that's all. My world may have been the Northern Water Tribe, but one of the first places I docked when I left was the Earth Kingdom. I have find memories and friends I met then: this just makes me a little nostalgic."

She laughed. "Fontaine seems to be enjoying himself too!"

"It does make me homesick," he admitted. "It makes me yearn for the cool ponds and overgrown thickets of bushes and vines. The impossibly tall trees with boughs that blotted out everything but the thinnest shafts of moonlight. The eternal twilight and odd, yet melodic cacophony of sounds that were sung by the denizens of the forest."

His eyes fluttered open, half-slitted as they traced the hard edge of the giant stone slab near the entrance to the room. They followed the round symbol in the center and traveled on the small cracks that branched from it.

"Most of all I think I ache for the comfort, safety and ease of heart and spirit that the presence of my animal companions brought. Homesick and nostalgic," he said softly, repeating the words. He laughed and shook his head softly. "I do not think even those words could accurately describe what I feel."

"Oh, I see," Kaya said, and her heart went out to him without thinking about it. She knew that Nokosi had an affinity for the forests, for all of it, but now she was beginning to clearly see exactly how affected he was by all of it, how even in coping it left its own mark on him.

"When I first got here, everything felt wrong. You'd think it would be the technology, or the alien people and everything, but it was never that: it wasn't even the smell. It was how humid everything was, how hot the air felt. I missed the frost and the cold, of course, but more than that I missed things being natural."

She settled down by him. "I find the best way to deal with that longing is to take comfort in the small bits of nature here, where you can find it."

"I do...where I can. Especially for Fontaine's sake. Still...what I would give to feel real sunlight kissing my skin or the embrace of a breeze and perhaps the gentleness of the spring's rain. I think-" his words were interrupted as he was tackled by the large wolf and went sprawling through the grass and flowers.

They wrestled there for a bit; Fontaine attempting to use sheer strength to pin his friend down but the nimble elf managing to escape each time, if only barely. The creature suddenly flopped to his side, giving up the fight in exchange for a belly rub, which his owner was happy enough to oblige.

"You are right, though. It is definitely this--the small things that tide one over. I take comfort in the sparse bit of nature around me and my friends can fill in the rest," he breathed.

Kaya wasn't sure what to make of Fontaine and Nokosi wrestling, but finally she figured that she didn't have to act here: the two of them were just playing and having fun in an environment that made the both of them comfortable and relaxed.

"I'm glad you like it," she finally said, shaking her head. "Do you two play like this all the time?"

"Of course," he puffed, pushing wayward strands of hair from his face. "He may be my companion but he is still a wild animal after all. This is how they play with each other." He paused and sat back against his legs, arms draped over his thighs.

"Do you and Zhin not engage in 'roughhousing'?" he questioned, a violet eyebrow raising a notch.

"I should have guessed," Kaya said, but at the next question Zhin, who had followed them, seemed to look highly affronted. She was certainly not dainty by any means, but the idea of knocking down Kaya, even at play, was something foreign to her.

"Oh no, not at all! When she and I are playful, we're usually racing each other or something like that, just to make sure we can keep up. I've actually gotten much faster because of her! But I think wit Zhin, whoever she bonds with she can sense their nature: that might be why we don't roughhouse that way."

"I see. It is something natural for me, I suppose. Not so much for others as I find they believe rolling in the grass and wrestling is both fairly childish and boyish." Which would be why Ronnae sometimes gave him those looks when he tackles her in front of Billy. Sure, the pressure of it was entirely inconsequential for her but he supposed she was very into appearing more dainty and lady-like in front of her lover.

"How do you pass the day when you are spending time with Zhin?" he asked, pushing his unusually playful wolf off of him with a free hand.

"Even if its something boyish, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be enjoyed," Kaya said. "I happen to think its awfully sweet you two have such a close relationship. Everyone cares for people in their own way, and that way is particular to you two."

She grinned. "It depends how we feel. We could take a run together, or a swim together, or sometimes Zhin will join me when I'm having some meditation time. She's actually the only one I can actually do that with."

He slowly bobbed his head in understanding. "I will admit that I am not much one for meditating. I prefer a good nap instead." This place was absolutely perfect for an afternoon nap, but they still had plenty of places to still explore.

Nokosi fell back into the tall grass with a 'thump'. His fingers curled slightly, brushing against the soft layer of flowers and other vegetation.

"You mentioned to me that this place reminds you heavily of your time in the Earth Kingdom. Could you tell me of your travels, there?"

Kaya laughed. "Well, it does me good! I like a good nap as much as anyone, but its also pretty important that I'm able to ground and center when I have to, just so I'm able to function at a moments notice."

Kaya was sitting with her legs in front on her. "Well, with the earth Nation it really depended on where you went. It's one of the most diverse of the Nations. The place I lived in the longest was Ba Sing Se though: at the time I had to live in the poorer quarters, being on my own and such. Wasn't easy either, as you ran into some pretty rough people from time to time: they learned soon enough they had a waterbender among them. But when you got to the richer parts, you could see an array of pretty gardens, flowers and bushes and trees: it looked like a paradise. With the Earth nation, you had to actually look for places like that, as it was still being ravaged by the Fire Nation, but you could find places like that if you were really looking."

She hadn't been, but she found them nonetheless.

"The Fire Nation...you mentioned them before. They were the kingdom who traveled around destroying all of the other nations and their surroundings, yes? It is disheartening to think of how much one would destroy just for power."

He blew a strand of hair from his face, along with a wayward flower petal. "I can hardly say I am surprised though. Fire bending...in its nature fire is only used for two things. Destruction and cleansing. By the way that you speak, I very highly doubt they had any good intentions in mind."

"If that's how I made it sound, then I've done wrong," Kaya said. "To many of the other nations, yes, they blame the Fire Nation, but it was the military and the Firelord who truly wanted power over all of the other nations. I've met good people from the Fire Nation, Zuko and Mai being among them. Zuko's sister was one of those that wanted power, and in the end, the loss of that broke her. It was part of the disease that rotted away the good of the Fire Nation, I'm sad to say."

She shook her head. "Fire Bending can be used for good too. An experienced bender can use it to fend off enemies, or to prevent damage from claiming the lives of others. I can tell you, if there is anyone who knows the lesson of how fire can hurt and heal, it is Zuko."

"True, but I speak of the Fire Nation as a whole. It stands that on an individual level that you can't blame the people for what it is their military does. Even those in the military. They are just doing their job, are they not? Still, their nation does it for power but I have found that such complexities are just the nature of war."

It was a lesson he was thoroughly aware of, given one of his closest friends was made up of two races that his people loathed above all others, save Trolls.

"Even if it's used to fend off enemies or prevent others from taking lives, one of its natures is still that of destruction. Such things cannot be changed just by rewording it. However..." His eyes rolled up to the partially blocked sky and his chest rose and fell in a sigh.

His original home. Nordrassil. If Azeroth wasn't a speck of nothingness, the World Tree would still be burning under Ragnaros' watch, wouldn't it?

"It still is a very necessary element, I think. Its nature is to destroy, yet it also makes rebirth possible. The charred remains it leaves in its wake lays the path for new life...when used with such intentions in mind, which rarely seems to be the case, I've seen."

He paused, considering his next words. "The Dragon Aspect of Life--her name is Alexstrasza. The fire she breaths urges new plant life to grow in its wake. It is...both a vexing and truly wonderful sight. Might I inquire if you have physical representatives of the forces you manipulate on your world?"

"I try not to blame the whole of people in the Fire Nation. It's tempting, but I saw what happened after the war too: Zuko did his best to repair the damage done by his nation. It wasn't an easy thing, and considering what those who used their bending as a weapon did, some people stay traumatized. The nature of war can be a very ugly state of affairs."

That was true, to a point. "Anyone can use their bending for destruction: how you use your abilities are up to the bender. If they want to use them for evil things, they will come, and only those who use bending for better purposes can stop them."

She nodded here. "Fire is an element, as is water and air and earth, Just because one can cause destruction a little more easily than another doesn't change that. And you're right: it can bring about change, as well as sustenance from cooking."

She thought a moment "The Fire Nation's aspect were dragons, although there are very few of them left, as they hunted them later for sport. For the Earth bender it was the badger moles, and they were still very much around. For air, it was the sky bison, but like the dragons were quite extinct, save for one. Waterbender's are the only ones that isn't an animal: we learned our bending from the moon."

He remained quiet, eyes shut as he listened to her speak. The fluid sounds as she explained and the moments of hesitation as she gathered her thoughts before furthering her opinion. It was both nice and soothing; one of the reasons he enjoyed hearing stories told so often.

A wry smile cracked his serene expression though he did not rise from the grass. "Dragons and badgers? Bison and the moon..." He couldn't help but laugh. "I see. That is interesting that most take on the forms of creatures while yours is something that can never be touched. In Azeroth they are simply forms made up of their elements, bound to a shape that serves as a body."

Kaya didn't know why, but she flushed a little just then, and then laughed lightly. "That almost makes me sound more interesting than I am. Waterbending was learned by the way the moon governed the tides, watching the ebb and flow. Each of the characteristics of the bender matches with the creature's wisdom, and with us, we simply had to understand the source of strength and recreate it within ourselves."

But is description, she thought she lost it. "So there is no one physical being you learn the certain magics from?"

"Hardly. I think you are very interesting."

He took a long moment to gather his thoughts on all that he'd learned in the last few years. "No," he finally said. "There are...many different types of magic from different sources. The fireball that a mage shoots is not the same source as the lava burst that a shaman uses. Shaman hold power over the elements themselves- all four."

"And still," he said raising a hand and lowering a finger for each thing he counted off. "It is different from the powers of nature a druid wields which is different from the sort of mysticism that a Hunter holds, though I would hardly call the skills we employ 'magical'. But even still there are more powers in Azeroth. Night Elf priests get their abilities from a different source than Human priests, for instance."

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Ha! Pod pop! So much for sleep...

I didn't app anyone this time so I'll just have to sleep extra for everyone else~

Re: I didn't app anyone this time so I'll just have to sleep extra for everyone else~

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